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43 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Right up there with Arkenstone's best work., April 7, 2003
This album was given to me as a gift, and I'm glad because I'm not sure I would have bought it otherwise.People seem to all be rating this album on how well it captures middle earth which I guess is warranted given the name of the album. Some have said they don't like it because Howard Shore's work on the motion picture score captures Tolkien's world better. Others have said they can't believe Arkenstone wasn't asked to score the film. Few have judged the CD on it's own. First let me say Howard Shore rightly deserved the oscar for his score. Has any composer in history had a more daunting task? Shore not only composed a beautiful, encapsulating score for the film, but also did the near impossible--gained the approval of a vast majority of die hard Tolkien fans whose sacred ground he tread upon. In my mind, it is the definative music to Tolkien's saga. To most Americans, fantasy is made up of rainbows and unicorns, fairies and good witches. It's a world where girls grow up to become beautiful princesses and evil is thwarted by true love's kiss. It is as such that many such Americans who read Tolkien's Lord of the Rings that they have a hard time seeing past the naivete and innocense of those cute little hobbits always singing and dancing even when climbing the face of Mt. Doom. David Arkenstone's Music Inspired by Middle Earth is definately INSPIRED by this side. To be fair, that is his style. His music is typically very light and airy. To be even fairer, the music include here is at some times the darkest I've heard from the composer. But Tolkien wrote his masterpiece in a world ravaged by two world wars, having himself been in the trenches for the first. Tolkien's audience was one that had lived through the devastations; understood real sacrifice. Arkenstone's music captures Lord of the Rings about as much as an old John Wayne World War II movie captures the real event. Parts of it seem right, until you see Saving Private Ryan. I would recommend this album as one of (if not) the best of David Arkenstone's albums. The music is beautiful and timeless. While it doesn't do anything to bring Lord of the Rings to mind for me, it is often a selection of choice for when I'm reading a fantasy novel or when writing. Strangely enough this album makes me think of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series more than anything else. It would be nice to hear Arkenstone do an album inspired on that. Most albums inspired by fantasy works [are bad]big time. This album certainly does not.
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Unbelievable Adventure into Tolkien's Middle-Earth, May 19, 2002
This CD is just unbelievable! I just finished listening to it for the first time, and it's very rare these days for an ENTIRE CD to catch your attention. Every track faithfully recreates the world of Middle Earth. Play this as you are reading The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings, and the mood is instantly created for you. I can't really compare this CD to the actual soundtrack by Howard Shore. Both are two different music types. While Shore's score is more orchestral and theatrical, Arkenstone's version here is definately more traditional in terms of instruments, music-style and rhythm. There is definately a down to Earth Medieval and Renaissance feel to it, something Shore doesn't fully capture, except in his track "Concerning Hobbits", or the msic played at Biulbo's Birthday Party in the film. The songs are light and upbeat for the most part, definately setting the mood for the Fellowship embarking on their Quest. If you are a lover of Celtic music, or period-based music from the Renaissance, this CD is definately for you. I highly and enthusiastically recommend it!
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good, fitting music for Lord of the Rings, January 5, 2002
Edited after much listening:
Recently I was listening to the first track in 'Quest of the Dream Warrior' and was struck that this was just the kind of music that should be the backdrop for 'Lord of the Rings'. Instrumental, with vocals that complement Arkenstone's style perfectly (he himself is a very good singer even if only a handful of his tracks on all his CDs actually feature him singing).
Initially I felt that this CD only reinforced the notion that Arkenstone would have been the perfect choice to do the music for LotR. After having listened to both CDs (Shore's and Arkenstone's) I have to retract that statement, especially after having watched the movie again. Arkenstone doesn't do moody and
dark to the level that the movie would have required. He does the 'triumphant'/cheerful pieces better than the more somber ones (which tend to be repetitive). This CD has gotten a lot of playing time, but I don't listen to it over and over again, simply because each of the pieces do tend to repeat themselves, some with absolutely no change in the piece on each of many repetitions. Some of the pieces are wonderful however, and those keep it at a 4 star level. A below average Arkenstone CD, but still above average compared to most other similar works.
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